22-7-2025 – Seven cryptocurrency ATMs were seized and two individuals arrested Thursday in southwest London on suspicion of money laundering and operating an illegal cryptocurrency exchange, as reported by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. The joint operation between the FCA and Metropolitan Police targeted four locations across the capital.
The enforcement action represents the latest escalation in UK regulators’ crackdown on unregistered crypto kiosks operating without proper authorization. Therese Chambers, the FCA’s Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, warned that operators of illegal crypto ATMs and exchanges “should expect serious consequences”. The seizures come as global authorities increasingly scrutinize cryptocurrency kiosks amid concerns about their use in money laundering schemes.
The London arrests coincide with regulatory tightening in the United States, where states like Wisconsin are implementing daily transaction limits and mandatory fraud warnings for crypto ATM operators. Last year, the FCA and Metropolitan Police arrested two men suspected of running an illegal crypto exchange that processed over £1 billion in unregistered transactions.
The investigation remains ongoing as UK authorities continue their broader effort to bring cryptocurrency kiosks under regulatory oversight.
